Lakes you Freedive or Spear - Wisconsin

[Pinggene]

What lakes do you like to Freedive or Spear in Wisconsin?

For me, I enjoy the following:

Lake Michigan, Sheboygan - Great visability. I have only gone along the breakwater (inside & outside). I did not have the proper equipment (good wet suit), so I did not last too long (cold). Will be a different story soon. I hope to find some carp & perch this next season...there are some big ones.

Crystal Lake, Sheboygan County - Small lake, but visability is great. Lots of fish to see. Fun place to take the family.

Hartman Creek State Park - along the chain of lakes...visablity was pretty good, but not the fish numbers I would like to see.

Elhart Lake - vis was so so, no fish where I was at...off public beach.

I have a few more I've tried & will post later, but need to go for now.

Gene

 

[bglaeser]

Gene,

I noticed you are from Oshkosh.... haven't you tried Lake Winnebago?

~Brian

 

[Pinggene]

Brian,

Yes, I did try Lake Winnebago, but vis was not very good...Will try early spring this year...should be better before the algae comes in.

Gene

 

[bglaeser]

I don't know if Winnebago is the same as Lake Michigan....but the visibility on Lake Michigan is very dependant on wind direction. Wind from the East blows all the surface crud in also wave action clouds the water. Wind from the West blows out the crud and with low wave action the water becomes clear (and cold). But the perch love it.

~Brian

 

[Pinggene]

Guess I have not watched it that close...was usually pretty dirty every time I went...With other lakes in the area having better vis, I spent more time at those...was difference of 3' - 5' vis vs 10' - 25'...made a bid difference.

You ever tride Lake Michigan in the winter? Wonder if the perch are around now?

Gene

 

[Jon]

Lakes I spear:

Mendota: The best for crappie and big bluegill. It's very clear in the winter and early spring, but turns to crap by mid June.

Monona: Great for spearing carp, and fish watching in general, but I wouldn't want to eat fish out of there on a regular basis- years of pollution have taken their toll.

Waubesa: She's only good for a couple of weeks in the spring, before she turns so green you can't see anything, but I don't know if there's a lake around with more fish in it.

Rock Lake: Good for spearing carp and there are some nice pan fish in it, plus there's always the mysterious "pyramids" on the bottom that they've done a few shows on, but this lake turns green pretty early.

Devil's Lake: Used to be great but now it's illegal to spear there.

Pearl Lake: The one by Red Granite and not the hole in the ground by Beloit. This a great lake to spend some time in. The beach has been closed but there is still public, boat, access on the south end of the lake- great for pan fish.

Wood Lake: Very pretty with clear water and no invasives. Water is so clear it's hard to spear in, but still worth the effort just to swim around.

Lake Wazee: Great vis but not much in the way of spearable fish. I know that some guys pull suckers out of there, but all the panfish I've seen are too small for me to bother with.

Lake Michigan: Tons of carp if you hit the right spot, but illegal to spear panfish in it. Vis has gone WAY up in the past 30 years, really in the past 15, and is great for fish watching on the right day. East winds stir things up, but makes it great for surfing, and brings in the warm water during the summer months. West winds will, generally, make things clearer. In Mid August, after a good east blow, we'll have 68F degree water down past 100'!

Lake Nagawicka: Some carp and panfish, but not as good for spearing since the zebra mussles got in there. Lots of frogs and muddpuppies to find if you dig under the rocks.

Moose Lake: The used to be THE place to run check out dives and spearfish. The only beach access was sold off and turned into condos a few years back so now you can only get on her through a boat, or kayak. A great lake with lots of fish, and even a shipwreck!

Lower Nehmabin: Need a dive kayak to get on her, or a boat, but she's a pretty lake with lots of fish and not super deep.

Upper Nehmabin: Easier to get onto, and deeper, but lot's of boat traffic and not as many fish.


I'll post more lakes as I remember them, but for now here's a link to my favorite lake finding website: Wisconsin Lakes Trophic State Index

Jon

 

[bglaeser]

Gene & Jon:

Gene…. Lake Michigan turned cloudy last August and hardly and clear days since then. But no… I’ve never done it in the winter…. They usually start “biting” end of April… so I will try back then.

Jon: Actually… it is legal to spear for panfish in Lake Michigan. I know the rules are ambiguous so I called the DNR to be sure. The lady answering the phone contacted a warden to confirm that panfish are legal in Lake Michigan…. Usual bag limits apply so it is 5 perch per day. This is in Wisconsin waters I’m talking about. Illinois spearing is illegal (panfish).

I'm going to be looking for a good lake for crappie in the spring in SE Wisconsin. Any suggestions anyone?

~Brian

 

[bglaeser]

Thanks for that website Jon. I looked at it and already found 2 lakes in my own county I've never looked at before that I'll have to try this spring!

Speaking of Lake Michigan... the perch limit in the bay of Green Bay is 10.... maybe a vacation to door county will be in order this summer. Anybody have any info on the perch situation on the Green Bay side of door county?

~Brian

 

[Jon]

Brian,

I get my info from Ted (unirdan) who, before he got his job as a biologist at the UW, used to work for th DNR. As I understand the rules regarding LAke Michigan you have to take the most restrictive rules from all the boarding states and apply them to the entire lake. If you have this persons number I would love to talk to them because I know of some prime areas, and shipwrecks, that I would love to spear some big, fat, perch.

Winter time vis in Lake Michigan is the best it gets all year long, if there is no wind. I've taken a tape measure down and measured out 85' of horiztontal vis, at 80', on some of the wrecks in the winter time- and it's only gotten better since I've done that. There are plenty of days when divers hanging out at 80' can look up and see the charter boat floating above them in the winter time.

What part of the state are you in and which lakes are you looking at?

Jon

 

[unirdna]

Regulations change every year, and get more and more ambiguous. Last year a few new counties were added to the "off limits" spearfishing section. As I understand the regs, spearfishing for panfish (including perch) and roughfish in L. Michigan is legal by the shoreline, but panfish spearing is illegal in outlying waters. Spearfishing is illegal in any boundary waters between Wisconsin and Michigan. I don't think this applies to L. Michigan, but rather to the waters that split Wisconsin from the U.P. As Jon mentioned, in the case of all boundary waters, regulations differ to the state with the stricter policy.

So, as far as L. Michigan goes. You can legally spear perch by the shoreline, but not on the wrecks (outlying waters). Though, I doubt there are many wardens that would put the screws to you for plucking a perch off a wreck. Still, it's good to know the EXACT rules.

http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/regulations/2006/documents/Spearing06web.pdf


EDIT: Spearing Perch or any panfish in any area of L. Michigan is ILLEGAL. Turn to page 2 for clarification. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Jon]

So how far does the "shoreline" extend out and where do the "outlying" waters start? If we can spear them I have a pretty good idea where to look.

Jon

 

[bglaeser]

Jon,

I think that unrdna is probably right (and you) about far offshore. But I don't go that far out.... just off the shore rocks and off the breakwater. I just started in Lake Michigan last year and have taken a few "nice fat perch" already... I really think Lake Michigan is my favorite place to spear. But... as far as going out to a wreck etc.... I really don't know. I don't scuba, so I couldn't go there anyway.

I'm in Kenosha, and by looking at that website you sent me I definately want to take a look at Lilly Lake.

~Brian

 

[Jon]

The closest wrecks to you are deep, but there is one rock barge in 35' that I remember not too far out. There are a few shallower ones to the south. Unfortuantely, those are just over the border so no spearing.


There are some spots off of Milwaukee that I was thinking out past the breakwall, but that puts them a mile off shore. I have padded my dive kayak to them and I'm sure I could swim it on a warm day.

It would be nice to know if it's a distance or a depth that they are looking for. I know that with comercial fishing they make them go out past the 20 fathom line in winter time and in shallower in the summer time. This really bites for the, commercial, fisherman because in this part of the lake you need to go out 20 miles to hit that kind of depth- which is a very long boat ride when the weather's like it is now.

You should try and make it up to Bayview for the gathering this spring. I can point you out to where the rock reefs are.

Jon

 

[bglaeser]

A wreck off Kenosha at 35'? What kind of wreck? How far out? Do you have gps coordinates? If you have info on wrecks just over the Il line I'd be happy to know where they are.

When is the "gathering" at Bayview and what do you do there?

I just started snorkeling/spearfishing in Lake Michigan this past summer, so any tips you can give me would be helpful. I don't have any trouble finding perch here in Kenosha.... just off shore or at the breakwater..... I use my 17' bass boat when the water is reativly calm, but I don't like to go more than 2 miles offshore.... heard to many horror stories of people having problems etc. I'm a bit of a safety nut.

Any info would be appreciated

 

[Pinggene]

Brian,

At the top of this Forum (Lakes you Freedive or Spear - Wisconsin), click on Wisconsin Freedivers & Spearos. This will give you a list of all Forums started by us Wisconsinites. In this list of Forums, you will find some listed by month with an event after it. I believe the Bayview one is in June. We are trying for a dive event every month...

I think I will make the monthly event Forums "Sticky", which will place them always at the top of the listing.

Jon & Brian, I would be up for a perch spearing outing almost any time, any place. We could even fry them up afterwards!!!

Gene

 

[Jon]

I'm waiting to hear back from another captain I know to get the GPS numbers. She's a small barge sitting in 35' and comes up off the bottom at least 8'. She wasn't too far off of one of the rock reefs down there. I dove her once when I was teaching a wreck diving class about 6 years ago but haven't been back since then.

Other wrecks to the south of you that I do have Numbers on:

SEABIRD: 42 18.892/ 87 49.262- This is a neat wreck not too far off the Naval academy beach. She sits in 30' of water but parts of her paddle wheel come up to within a couple feet of the surface.

ZION SCHOONERS: 42 27.158/ 87 47.786- Tow old schooners lying on top of each other right off the Zion power plant. Each one is about 100' long

ZION MINESWEEPER: 42 27.535/ 87 47.814- This is the bottom half of an old navy minesweeper in less than 15' of water. When i last dove her the local sheriff's boat drove past and waved, since this is close to a nuclear power plant I'm not too sure hoe close you can get to her these days.

If your going to make trip to Lily lake you should drive a bit further and hit Lake Geneva. Nick and Rob dive there quite a bit and when the boat traffic is down she's a very impressive lake to dive in.

Jon

 

[Pinggene]

FYI,

I called the DNR about Perch on L. Michigan. They said that the "Outlying Waters" include Lake Michigan Proper & all tributaries up to the first dam. On these waters, only rough fish may be taken.

Has anyone been told anything different than this? If yes, please post so we can clear this up...I would hate to have someone get pinched because they were steered the wrong way by this site.

Be Safe, Be Legal!

Gene

 

[unirdna]

FYI,

I called the DNR about Perch on L. Michigan. They said that the "Outlying Waters" include Lake Michigan Proper & all tributaries up to the first dam. On these waters, only rough fish may be taken.

Has anyone been told anything different than this? If yes, please post so we can clear this up...I would hate to have someone get pinched because they were steered the wrong way by this site.

Be Safe, Be Legal!

Gene

I called a fish manager, and you are spot on!

All panfish spearing is ILLEGAL in any part of L. Michigan.

This is what we thought all along... that perch spearing was illegal in all areas of L. Michigan. I don't know why the DNR drafters choose use ambiguous language....[sigh]....when, they could just as easily state that spearing panfish is illegal in "L. Michigan and all tribs up the the first dam". That certainly is as specific and succinct as what they originally drafted.

 

[bglaeser]

Gene,

As I mentioned in the private message, I spoke with the DNR last fall and received a clear and enequivicol answer that spearfishing for panfish while scuba or skin diving in Lake Michigan (Wisconsin waters) was legal. I suspect the confusion comes from the fact that in general the "Spearing and Netting Regs" are MOSTLY referring to hand spearing and bowfishing, not "speargunning." But I'll talk to a warden again before I go this spring/summer.

~Brian

 

[Pinggene]

Brian,

Thanks. I think we should clear this up for sure. Would be nice to be able to spear for them, but again, we don't want anyone getting pinched for following what we post here...

As always, everyone must get their own answers. I would hate to have anyone try to come after me with a fine they had to pay because of something I posted here...

Gene